moderator for the ddbate anywhere in the u.s.? wait, what about lou dobbs? it would be fun for the audience and me, the problem is i would probably start with several follow-up questions to begin with, that prooably would not be amusing to the candidates but i good night from new york. neil: the next time some politicians tell you that money is the answer, ask him why a. rod is yielding squat. a lesson maybe in all our lives, alex rodriguez and his performance isn't all the proof you need big bucks don't necessarily build big results, don't know what does because a. rod is like 0-for-100. okay, slight exaggeration but in a hole to the detroit tigers 2-0. that is what happens when you pay top dollar.

sometimes you just strike out. if you're the governor, you lead taxpayers to pay the bill. the yankees have the luxury of trading a. rod someday. until november when we can send them a message not only does the buck stop here, but why don't you just get off here. that is the message of the election three weeks out, time for republicans and democrats alike because we're sick of your games and sick a few promising us some baking mix is leave your bowl. gone are the days we were wooed by investors for which we have no money and for which we have no cash. it is not all that green technology companies that keep failing, it is that good money after bad that i find so annoying. like ilake in the middle of the god-awful season for a. rod yankees announced they suspend his contract and double his pay.

fat chance the yankees would do it or the fans would let them do it. that is where we stand. but the disappointing yankee fans who simply want their money back. so maybe we have it wrong. the guy who wins will be the candidate who takes away the bacon, not the guy who piles it on thinking it can buy us all. voters can't be bought off, that approach is now washington and striking out. what do you think happens? >> part of it is i think that the creation of if you spend more is better has to out the window but not just i want to spend less, it is can i spend differently? can i think differently and use different technology? if you look at our health care system, the perfect match for the yankees, we are the number one, world health organization

says we're the highest per capita health spending system as a whole. do you know where we rank? 37th in the same study. ranked as spenders fourth, seventh, 21st to 23rd. the guys actually getting results and w we're blowing the money like the yankees not hating it. if one of the candidates doesn't say i will just spend less, if they say i will think differently of the problems we have, how to attack things like the health care system without simply throwing more money at it. neil: i always tell people right or left on this issue, gone are the days are increasingly so that if you threw folks in your district a bridge or highway or a post office or some kind of a structured project the response

will be grateful and reelect you, i don't know if those days still exist. increasingly many in congress found that out in 2010 when a lot of tea party members to surmount that notion. it doesn't matter if you are barack obama, you're promising more programs to keep doing what you are doing or mitt romney to give more money to defense and expect better results. i think people are a lot more financially astute than they used to be and are tired of the same old, same old. and that will decide it. >> the line of questioning that says exactly how much more of my kids and grandkids money are you planning to borrow from china, how much more from china are you planning to borrow to put onto my kids to pay for that. we have this notion that you can buy their favor, i don't think that will hold any more.

we are looking at peyton manning playing for us tonight, that is not getting us anywhere. i am not sure that a christian anymore holds up reach deep into your pockets because when you know the money is coming from some where else, i'm not sure people will be that happy about signing up to pay it. for performance. thank you, my friend, in denver. social security spending out of control and with fixes like this, we will never get it out of the hole. cutting spending, it is how they're cutting it which you may not be so enthused about. the government planning to save money by making social security workers clock out a half-hour earlier each day and on wednesday they can clock out at noon. it would be a stick in the

ocean. it turns out they are, will this move the needle at all? >> they're looking for pennies under the sofa for making money when they have this liability looking straight at you in the face. this is the way washington does things. they are missing the big picture of a program that is bankrupt and cannot survive in its current form. neil: freeze their pay or slow their hiring or docking their hours. it was the underlining programs, they run the problem and these are at best patronizing gestures again to throwing money. what do you think? >> i think you are right. a broken program to start with the makinand we can have the bet administrators and managers in

town running them and they will still not work. we're in this situation right now, one of the things they do by closing the office hours earlier, whenever they start putting money in washington, they cut the most visible things. now it will be much more difficult to get their check and their program set up. neil: it is not the workers we have a problem with, it is the work they're doing and the result they're getting. you could argue this is going to make a bad situation even worse. the underlining demographic fundamentals of social security that is a hazard to the future. >> not the amount of workers involved, it is the structural flaws in the program. a baby boom generation that is retiring and we are facing $20 trillion. neil: you always say you are akin to throwing granny off the cliff were taking food away from

grandma and grandpa. we are actually trying to stabilize, the goal should be for folks much younger then grandma and grandpa so it is around for them. look at those who have zero faith that will be around for them obviously they crunche crue numbers themselves and concluded not going to happen. >> you are exactly right. this coming election will tell us which way we are going, and i think for the future we have to make real choices available to the younger generation because the current system will not be there for them. neil: this is where we got it all backward. not cutting the growth of the very entitlement at risk. it might be just normal folks raising it. if p.m. until midnight on fox business.

we don't just talk to the pundits, without the newsmakers including bobby jindal, sun microsystems founder, and we want to hear from you, fox business will be bringing you a brand-new online polling. log onto foxbusiness.com tomorrow night as soon as the debate and if we will be following your tweets as well. tell us what you think happened or didn't happen. whatever you say, we will pass along. president obama's likability edge out the window. how folks are taking a liking to one mitt romney and unlike bill clinton he didn't have to break out a stack o saxophone. and why some republicans and some democrats are singing the blues. uh, i'm in a timeout because apparently

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neil: is mitt romney going to pull a richard nixon and prove all those doubters that he can't be funny wrong? after the first debate in some swing states appear to be warming to mitt romney. more than half of the voters saying romney is likable. a jump from right before the debate when the nominee was almost seen as lucifer in pinstripes. laugh all you want, this kind of stuff about likability is important. why is it people inevitably come back to that and remind me don't dismiss it, it is important. why? >> first off i would recommend mitt romney not use the line "sock it to me clos" because ony people our age would get it. for likability is important because when people are electing a president they are not just

electing a leader, they are electing somebody who is going to be a part of their lives every evening for four or eight years. people think of it like that. i have heard people put it in these terms, cannot stand to have this person in my living room every night for the next 15 years? that is why likability is so important. he made gains in that first debate, no doubt about it. neil: when times are really bad i think you could sooner elect hannibal lecter than a real likable guy in the white house. when push comes to serve you want them to have good bedside manners but you want him to make you better. are we at that point, or does this prove to be like icing on the cake? if you are also seen as a

likable dr. besides just being a competent one? speak of the issues matter more than anything else. ideology, those things are the most important for any election. with the exception making more human by that laugh in. arranged by a fellow who i am not sure if he has been heard from since 1968. neil: the liberal producer says it is the one thing he always regret to this day, how it might have contributed to the election, but it is a good point. >> on the whole, people would prefer to let someone and not only agree with, but also have some warm feelings for and understand this their problems, whatever their problems and their families problems would be. that is why the first debate

proves so important in what a town hall may prove important. this gives romney a chance to warm up with individual voters. have you noticed the way he has been taking questions at town hall for the past couple of months? that is part of the debate strategy. neil: this pressure on the guy that came out so well that he has to equal the performance and if your opponent is doing better, you have to ratchet up as well, right? >> yeah, i think romney would love to win, but given the fact everybody is set to write the story obama rebounds from denver, i guarantee that will be the story coming out of denver. what romney wants is a second paragraph to say romney also did

well again. this was seen as a wash or something like that. you have to relate to individual people. it is hard to score points. we cannot start bashing the other guy. neil: you can turn around and say that is my opponent. if you are obama, you want to do that, don't you? >> i think you can do some of that, but you must be careful about it. you have to smile while you are sticking the knife in. maybe you make a joke out of it. you try being nice while you're nasty. you have to be careful, i've attended the town hall debates before, neil, and the audience will rebel if you get too negative, real people undecided voters sitting in front of you. if you start gnashing your

opponent they will start grumbling and grimacing. neil: who is better suited for this type of format? i remember bill clinton over george bush senior. i could have predicted that. it is a tougher call with these two. what do you think? speak of the obama of 2000 it was perfect for this. why has he gotten rusty? not only has he done the town hall, he won't even take questions from reporters. there have been so few news conferences, this is the bill coming due. neil: thank you very much. all right, a bit of twist in logic, things are so bad, bad news is good and if you are mitt romney, that ain't good. ?

neil: 44 so this is kind of as good as it gets. 44 economist predicted for the 44th president, she barely goes. slowly consumer spending, but barely. all as interest rates keep rising steadily. enough to get the gdp a boost but not really noticeably. on whether better might just be good enough. what do you think? >> i think everything we have seen shows the economy is going good enough to stop slowing from another recession but isn't doing much better than that. the economy growing at a very slow rate. unemployment insurance claims once they get those numbers in

our week. most economic indicators show we are not doing so well. neil: often raised this on our show, maybe it has been so long we have seen really robust recovery, most people don't even remember what a typical recovery looks like sort of word by this one, anemic numbers that if they are no longer humbling and in that environment a favorable one with the president because you can make the argument better. might not be good, but better is better than worse. speak i think ed anger is happening to so many european issues where 30 years ago unemployment jumped and most european countries stayed high. policies of high government intervention and texas failed to turn things around.

unemployment stuck for most europeans. they have just not been used to it. in america not that long ago we have 5% unemployment. americans know what it was like when the economy was growing well, if you got laid off you could find a new job within a few months and was not a life altering thing it has been for so many workers unemployed for a year, year and a half now. neil: it may be popping up in surveys, are your kids going to have a better future for us to have a future as you. the first time a generational shift in thinking among the parents and the kids themselves who d did not see the promising future. we have had other funks, but you snap out of them as it is the american way to robustly boom

out of them. is that out the window? >> i don't think it has to stay out the window, but it is right now. normally a pretty strong driver throughout the entire economy, but we have seen record lows the last two years. find those new jobs become more and more difficult. it is an interesting thing you look at the numbers, you're less likely to be laid off. for somebody who gets laid-off, a student come into the workforce, it is much more difficult than before to find a new job her two younger workers and that is part of where you see those coming from her newly graduated student it is tough for them to get their first% look. neil: james, hank you, good to see you.

maybe this is why lawmakers are waiting until after election day to spot a deal. and maybe share some hard news. paul ryan saying if his ticket loses, a good tax deal will be lost. looking increasingly like you are for or against the guy. you decide.

neil: paul ryan says of the republican wins, would get a tax deal. but aren't you more than full throttled it can attract win would not? what is the prospect for serious reform only seeing likely if the challenger wins? shouldn't we expect and demand

the same if an incumbent wins? are they doing more the same? with a victory in a victory for more the same and spending? we all want a fai fairer tax co, that means all the skin in the game with those watching from the sidelines not in the game. lots of times they're discussing whose nose got out of joint with a 47% think, but addressing how the heck did it get to be 47% in the first place? is paul ryan right when he says serious reform can only happen when they go? prove ryan is wrong and then you will indeed fix the tax code. if we let you stay. change that would only happen if we make a big change in washington.

you know, it gets back to the fundamental, i was thinking about it, if you reelect the incumbent party more or less reelecting what you got? and taking a hunch you will get more of what you have got and certainly not a revolution, spending as we know it, right? >> right. if you take a look at what we have gotten, the president doesn't want anything in tax reform. 60 votes in the senate most of the time, didn't put forth a tax plan to the extent could afford a corporate tax plan this year, walk away from it and didn't say word about it until the debate last week. neil: i wonder what the update would be addressing it. display all the spending cuts for six months the idea being the two sides presenting cobbled

together a big deal that will include tax reform. i don't see the appetite, especially when he would find his reelection as a repudiation to do that. speak to what the president really wants his taxes to go up because he thinks the government should be spending a lot more. neil: not for the half who pay no texas right now. speak out he doesn't care where the money comes from, he just wants to make sure the government is getting enough money to spend. historically for the last 50 or 60 years, the president's budget aims to have tax revenues closer than 21% of gdp. he wants texas 300 to $400 billion per year higher than what they have historically been and he wants to keep it there.

he wants government spending to be a record 23 or 24% of gdp every year. neil: it has to be more than that for the spending he already has. to keep pace with that spending paying for it through taxes, we would be approaching the upper 20s in short order. where does it end? >> it only goes up for 10 years, which doesn't affect for the baby boomers retiring. exploding out of control, pay for obamacare. you will see government spending easily getting over 30% of gdp which means the tax increases he is running on now are mainly a down payment. what he needs a massive tax increases on the middle class he has been talking about so forget about trying to go after the 47%.

neil: that is actually accurate. thank you very much. another conundrum for you, oil prices down butown but gasoline prices going up. the reason that will floor you. you see us, at the start of the day. on the company phone list that's a few names longer. yosee us bank on busier highways.

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so don wait. with all the good years ahead, look for the experience and commitment to go the distance with you. call now to request your free decisi guide. this easy-to-understand guide will answer some of your questions, and help you find the aarp medicare supplement plan that's right for you. neil: fox business alert, you're getting fox at the gas pump and you may be scratching your head why. oil prices are down this yeaa but gasoline prices are up double digits. what is going on here? >> we can blame ourselves because we keep electing politicians that put in policy to create gasoline shortages every year. major cities, refinery problems we have, california, chicago, indiana, you name it mainly

because these refineries have to make these incredibly difficult blends of gasoline every summer and we create government mandated shortage driving up the cost of gasoline in the major cities and the rest of the country suffering as well. neil: so what is going on leaving aside the environmental restrictions and limitations on just drilling, where does this go? >> right now gasoline prices probably will start coming down because we will start burning the wintertime blend of gasoline, the price of oil is lower so that will make a difference, but we have to look at the big picture. why do we go through this year after year after year? when we keep on electing politicians who are anti-drilling and we know what the problem is, we know the strict regulations, the different cities burning a

different type of blind, we havd to come up with a nationalized blend or original blend to take advantage of shortages when we have refinery issues upon refineries. we can hold the entire city of los angeles hostage because the regulations restrict what type of gasoline you can bring in in the event of an emergency. it is about time the government did something about it. neil: it seems to affect gasoline prices everywhere. they're within pennies of that right now. about th past $5 per gallon. that doesn't explain how we are stubbornly staying at or above $4, what is going on? >> we have to get you out of new york city, that is part of the problem. parts of the country raising gasoline prices fall from five

to $0.15 per gallon last couple of weeks but they're being kept artificially high for the problems in california and the big cities. the truth of the matter is probably answering questions why gasoline prices are high overall. really because of the regulations we get every year. neil: say we didn't have that, what do you think s. would be now? speak of gasoline down $0.75, $0.15 per gallon. i'm all for cleaner blends of gasoline. i don't like the fact we create these boutique blends of gasoline in the regulations are so strict if we have an emergency you have to wait for the governor of california to tell the refiners to make a different blend of gasoline. it is just ridiculous.

we can't have politicians to blame the energy companies calling for investigations every time gasoline prices go up. it is ridiculous. neil: in the meantime somebody better tell joe biden this is no laughing matter. another sign the economy is in tatters a day ahead of the next debate. your boss is getting madder at the white house. why it matters for what is going on in your hhuse. >> did they come in an inheritance situation? absolutely. overmanyiscounts to thine customs! [old english accent] safe driver, multi-car, paid in full -- a most fulsome bounty indeed, lord jie. thou cometh and we thy saveth! what are you doing? we doth offer so many discounts, we have some to spare. oh, you have any of those homeowners discounts?

here we go. thank you. he took my shield, my lady. these are troubling times in the kingdom. moreiscounts than we knoweth what to do with. now that's progreive.

neil: mighttbe feeling better, but i hate to break it to you, your boss is not. a new manufacturer reading with orders tumbling again, raising concerns at least in that business world things are retracting again. when ceos retrench maybe their workers should worry. what do you think? >> i think we're getting close to the finish line and people say i can hold back right now until i see which way it goes and make better commitments. neil: when you look at bosses, their employees, i'm generalizing here, or little bit more upbeat, i am worried when my bosses worried. i am thinking should i be saying uh oh? >> yes, i'm no i am not seeing e

level of confidence, the same level of enthusiasm for american small business owners and entrepreneurs who go out and start the business or expand and grow. when you don't see that level of confidence, that certainly is a worrisome indicator. neil: what has guys like you freaked out? >> freaked out is a strong word, frankly. i am not suicidal, but i certainly am concerned with the presidents real game plan if he got reelected, he is clearly spoken about class warfare. been kind enough to invite me, we should be applauding, blowing trumpets if not for the wealthy, the rich because that is who employs people.

unemployment got us here, employment gets us out of here. 100 people paying a dollar for taxes is $100 more than one person paying $1. in turn now paying 10 or $100. get people back to work, texas find a way of paying for what needs to be paid for. we get the government backed down and get rid of the regulations and we can become energy independent, which by the way that is an area totally lacking employment on the energy business, they can find people. a director of the oilfield services company and they don't have anybody to go through. lots and lots of oil in texas. neil: now, is there a sense the business community and the guy to talk to as well say if we reelect a president we kind of know what we are getting, kind of notice health care thing is

getting bigger. some people like that, other people don't. various surveys have come out. it is does this give us a pause, and what does this tell your workers? >> it does because when i look around me, all talks are increasing. now look anything like obamacare and i say what is going to happen, how is that going to impact me? at this time right now the last thing we want to do is ask small business owners to additional cost. neil: in that unknown, the better valor for guys like you is to keep your powder dry and your wallet closed, is that what you are doing? >> if you don't have that level

of confidence you sit on the sidelines and that doesn't get our economy going, keeps our economy stagnant. it could be much worse than just stagnant. the small business guy particularly has 30, 40, 100 people looking at who can he put on part-time and who can he keep on full-time because part-time workers don't fall under obamacare. several hundred thousand employees. under the 30 hours number. all of a sudden exacerbating. look, we are budgeting for next year, we want to see what their health care costs, so far we are blank on that number for our projections. we haven't got a clue. neil: have you entertained the

penalty? >> we are carefully combing our list of some 3000 plus people seeing who is marginally working full-time at who is not. @aybe we have to put them on full-time so they fall underneath that. that is the exact opposite effect of what the administration is claiming of people being put back to work. maybe millions of people in the ranks of the unemployed because you go from a full complement to part-time employment. listed by the department of labor they are employed, but they are underemployed which is what we talked about many times, neil. neil: i heard from many in the business community that will ease our concerns because we won't have commitments to worry about, taxes will go down, but that is a very hopeful best case scenario if he can do all that.

who is to say and what is to say that is a given and businesses automatically benefit. this reflected by the polls it will change the needle much. >> it is not a given. what governor romney has to do is really get down to a basic level and communicate with the american worker, the american small business owner and for him to instill the confidence. i think he absolutely can. i think his biggest advantage is he has been a very modest guy. he finds it difficult talking about his resume. this is why i come on your show all the time. neil: thank you both very much. the debate now is officially over. our debate coverage has been deemed a must see on fox business.

i have now made fox business the place i go to for the real debate story, i think they're afraid not to talk to you. that is why i am watching. you know why i have made fox business by election center? you. you don't talk to pundits about the newsmakers, you talk to the newsmakers. how you do your show, you are not cool, but that is okay, i'm just looking for smart and charming ones. writes as though you live in washington this last weekend reporting of a financial cliff. you are amazing. you might not be the best looking anchor. now it is getting going. your uncanny business sense in the turbulent times. he did not get one thing accurate. count me in for the next debate,

here we go with the big head thing. the camera makes things look bigger. in reality my head is a mere moon and not the planetary system some think it might be. you have one on me. i found your relentless pounding on the ballot i and rescues goig back to bush to be too much, but you have been right, you have been fair, and the best of this economy bar none. i just got fox business network the beginning of this year and i was curious to see how different you would be then your show on fox news. i am happy to say on caucus night and the debate not different at all, just more of you. i tell all my friends this is the network you should be watching. this guy makes news and this guy knows everybody. thank you, thomas. and this from eleanor.

i used to think fox business was a joke and i started watching you guys closely and your political coverage is no joke. no one gets bigger names in layman terms and seems to have so much fun doing what they're doing and matter how many long hours they are doing it then "cavuto" and company. nobody comes close. valerie in las vegas, keep on saying you don't get fbn, it demanded. i don't want to share you, neil. just because you're big enough to go around, doesn't mean i want to spread the word about it. i want you all to ourselves. you know what i mean, string bean? i will tell you why we get that kind of reaction. all energy development comes with me risk,

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and tell us who one. we're not going anywhere until we have a running sore. do you know, for every single debate the initial read whether the lack of competence the vice presidential debates, people say you are crazy. it is like i am the pulse of america. these all listen to each other first. i'd tell you my immediate reaction is the official reaction. they are all watching me. also the gene for market reaction. and the future market reaction. below on one network